A Tale of Ravens
by kiinchu
Summary: If there was one thing Itachi Uchiha was certain of, it was that he was made to protect his brother, and protect his Village. But fate is cruel, the world is cold, and a martyr is nothing without a bit of temptation. (Rewrite of The Raven) (Original still posted)
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note: **So, as this is my favorite story, it should be no surprise that I've rewritten it. However, this is not the ONLY story I'm rewriting. I'm re-writing all of them; Lalin, Valhalla, and even one I published a few years ago and never got around to finishing. I'm doing this for two reasons: 1. so that I can connect each and every story together to a certain extent, and 2. because once these are done, I will be done writing fanfiction for good.

This also means that all of my other stories are currently on hiatus (I'm so sorry to the followers of Lalin - your reviews are my favorite and I really hope you forgive me for this, and hopefully enjoy this just as much. But as a heads up, since I'm connecting all of my stories, Ai will appear once or twice in this if you want to stick around.)

I also want to point out that while I am absolutely terrified this version of the story will suck compared to the first, I am also very excited to write it because 1. there will be a longer, extended ending as opposed to how it ended the first time, 2. the history with Shin's mother is going to be much more apparent and 3. Itachi's side of the story will be told in far more detail.

So, to those who have returned to read the re-written version of The Raven, thank you. This version is more detailed and the ending is extended.

And to the others who have just started reading this, I hope you enjoy. :)

* * *

**A Tale of Ravens**

...

"His angelic wings blackened when the dark fury assailed his mind. Summoning new strength from the unholy power that ravaged his soul, grieved to drastic levels of desperation by the tainting of the holy light within him, he combated ally and enemy alike, bent on destroying both sides in order to ensure the quelling of the dark energies there and then.

For days and nights, the lone warrior bathed himself in the blood of angels and demons. And when it was over, he stood alone on contaminated land, with a contaminated soul. He was banned forever from Heaven and not even Hell had space for a creature which seemed to cherish Oblivion over Pandemonium.

The dark angel, not so far removed from his former self as his superiors seemed to believe, died on the edge of the cliffs, of utter loneliness and despair."

― T.A. Miles

...

**Prologue**

_..._

_Shinwari,_

_There is so much I want to say to you, but lessons between mothers and daughters extend lifetimes and sadly I am only granted this notebook and an estimated twenty minutes before they come for me. _

_You are sleeping upstairs and my god, how beautiful you are already. You have my eyes, but they look so much better on you than they ever could on someone as ordinary as me. I am so thankful that the world has given you an opportunity to see through them; it gives me hope that maybe you will understand your mother better, and why she had to abandon you..._

_There are no words for the regret I feel for giving you the same life I had as a child. To grow up without your parents is such a disastrous way to live; it leaves a hole in your heart, an aching in your chest, a burning of anger and resentment that can never be truly quenched. But, if I am to be honest with you, if I had a chance to do it over again, I can't say I would. The circumstances of my death are the same ones that caused your birth, so for me to say I would change anything would be the same as saying I would chose to live rather than to have brought you into this world... and staring down at you... staring down at that mess of red hair and those beautiful black eyes... I would give my life a thousand times over. _

_You deserve closure, and I plan on spending my last few minutes on this earth giving it to you. So I'll start from the beginning, and I will give you all the details I can recall... I will share my memories with you, and in return all I can hope is that someday I will be worthy of your forgiveness._

...

Brown eyes narrowed as she stared down at the journal in front of her. The brunette had barely made it passed the first page before she had slammed it shut, her her hands shaking as they held on to the leather-bound notebook that had been given to her only that morning. It had been three weeks since she had become a mother - three weeks since the Third himself had knocked at her door asking her if she would accompany him on one of his many walks down Kohana's hidden paths, a walk that had turned into a life changing request the seventeen year old could not refuse, but the Third had chosen that morning to hand over Reikyo Hamiruka's last words. Had sheknown the baggage that had come along with the two month old child she would never have -

No, she would have. Because Amaya Itoru owed the Hokage her life, and she would go to the ends of the earth to repay her debt.

No matter what the cost.

...

**Chapter One**

**...**

**Before**

**...**

There was a loud crash.

Torn covers flew off of a skinny body as the child raced out of her room and into the kitchen where her mother lay dormant on the floor. Red hair fell in front of black eyes as she bit her lip to prevent herself from screaming. Without a single word the small child cradled her mother in her arms, brushing brown strands of hair out of the older woman's pale face and she inwardly pleaded to the Gods for just a little more time.

Shinwari Natasu was four years old when her mother was diagnosed terminally ill. The disease was almost unheard of at the time, and with a rare condition that attacked the lungs and heart without warning, Amaya Itoru was prone to coughing fits and narcoleptic-like episodes.

By the time Shin turned five, bringing Amaya to the hospital was no longer an option. The medical shinobi at Kohana's hospital weren't well-versed in natural sickness; they had all grown with the times of war, and were much more experienced in keeping people alive due to vital injury than their own bodies make up. They would simply hook the woman up to an IV until she awoke, and send her home with pills she could not afford.

So instead of calling for help, as any normal family would at times of trouble,Shin sat on the cold floor and brushed her mother's dimly colored hair with her hands as she waited for her to awake from her episode.

When Amaya's brown eyes opened, she was greeted by the tired eyes of her daughter. With a small smile, the woman lifted herself up from the girls lap and onto her knees. Her legs were still shaking, AS were her hands, but Amaya still refused the hands of the girl who had sat with her. Instead, the woman used the counter for leverage as she pulled herself up.

"Shin-chan, what time is it?"

"Almost ten, Kaa-san," Shin spoke, standing up immediately and resting her hand on her mother's back for extra stability.

The brunette woman nodded, placing her hand over her daughters messy hair as both a sign of comfort and as a way to center herself.

"You should be sleeping, Shin. The academy starts bright and early tomorrow, and you don't want to be late on your first day."

Shin nodded, coal eyes circling her mothers frame before falling into the woman and wrapping her arms around her waist. Amaya sighed, closing her eyes and squatting back down to the floor to fully embrace the young child. Shin did not make a sound, but Amaya could feel the warm tears on her shirt.

"It's okay. We're going to be okay, I promise. Remember what I taught you, Shin-chan? So don't cry, please. No matter what happens, please don't cry."

_You must show no fear. You must show no sadness. Happiness is only achieved by those silly enough to believe in it's actuality. Just breathe, and glide through life like a leaf in the wind. That is how you make it in this world, Shin-chan._

_That is how you survive. _

...

_I was an orphan before I had even been named. _

_According to the Third, my mother was a member of one of the most prestigious clans of her time. Her name was Chinsai, and she had been engaged to the head of the Itokura clan when she discovered she was pregnant with another's child. Banished from the Itokura, she had left Kohana altogether, earning her title as a rogue. She escaped to the Land of Waves, where she apparently gave birth inside a refuge home before sending her newborn child away in a wagon back to the very village she had abandoned. To this day - my dying day, twenty six years later - I do not know who your grandfather was, and I do not wish to, for he never claimed me as his own. The news of Chinsai's banishment was enough to send him running from the hills._

_Was it his fault, at the end? I'm not sure. Maybe if I had grown up with a father figure I wouldn't have fallen in love with someone like yours, and none of this would be occurring. Maybe you could have been born to a normal family - a mother who cooks and cleans, a father who is strong and noble - or maybe.. maybe you wouldn't have been born at all, and I just couldn't have that._

"Kaa."

Amaya slammed the book shut, quickly tucking it under her pillow as she rolled over from her side to face the door that had just been opened. Shin stood there, leaning against the frame with an off look in her eyes. Her messy h

"What is it, Shinwari?" the brunette asked, beads of sweat dripping down her face as she prayed the small child did not see the journal in her hands. Even now, five years after both Shin and Reikyo's memories had been entrusted to her, she was still wary of telling her daughter the truth. Because she was _her_ daughter after all, no matter what genetics or the deceased Hamiruka had to say about it, and the entries that had been written for her could drastically change her life.

Even when Shin did grow to be an age where she could better understand the world and those in it, who was to say she would be able to control herself once she knew what she was truly capable of? Who was to say she would not hate the Village for all it had done, for taking away her mother? Who was to say she wold not leave the place that had betrayed her before she had even gotten the chance to open her eyes for the first time?

"Can I sleep with you tonight?"

"Of course," and without a second thought on the matter, Amaya moved over as the girl laid down next to her, nuzzling her head into her mother's neck.

And who was to say she would still accept the young Itoru as her mother, or if she would abandon her along with the Village of Deception and Sorrow, better known as Kohanagakure.

...

"Itami Hyuuga."

"Shiro Kui."

"Present!"

"Hiroki Nagasaki..."

"Here, Sensei!"

"Kirito Nama."

"Yo!"

"Shinwari Natasu."

"Here."

The young girl resisted the urge to run as all eyes turned to her. She could feel it - the way they all stared at her, the judgement that lingered behind their eyes at the girl who was just _so_ different from then. Not only was she two to three years younger than most of them, but there was no doubt that her torn clothes and malnourished body labeled her as an outcast to even the classmates that did not carry a clan name.

But she sat firmly in her seat as the teacher continued down the list of names, completely forgetting about the coal eyed girl and her tangled red hair for the time being.

"Like I said, my name is Kaito Yoshiro, and I will be your teacher for this year at the academy. The ranking system for academy students is usually based on age, but there is opportunity for children to excel early based on their talents..."

And there were _so_ many talents that year. First and foremost were the three Hyuuga clan members sitting in the front of the class, all of them main branch members said to be the best of their age group. Then their was the Kui boy in the back, whose shining purple eyes revealed a bloodline limit almost as sacred as the Uchiha's itself. Which only brought Kaito's eyes to the young boy sitting in the middle of the class, whose eyes bore the wrinkles of a life not yet lived, along with the astonishing wisdom of one as well:

Itachi Uchiha.

It was said that the young boys progress out matched all of those previous to him. Kaito had been told to watch him closely, that the chance of him staying at the beginning level was slim to none and that Kaito shouldn't get too attached.

Kaito scanned the room once more, his eyes gleaming. Because who was to say Itachi would be the only one moving up early? With the way his students had lined up, at least a quarter of them would be gone by the middle of the year, and the Hokage would rain down on him with praise for his progress as both a teacher and a leader.

However, he would have never expected that Shinwari Natasu would be one of them.

How could he have, when he had never even bothered to remember her name?

...

Shin was the first to leave the classroom; she was out the door thirty seconds before the bell even rang, with her head down and her books held closely to her chest. The day didn't go as bad as it could have; sure, she had been picked on for her ratty hair and dirty clothes, but she had excelled in the basic knowledge it took to become a shinobi.

Of course, no one knew that. The girl hadn't bothered to raise her hand whenever Kaito-sensei would asked a question, but _she_ knew that she had gotten the answer right, and at that point that was all that mattered.

Shin knew her objective well: excel past all of the grades as fast as she could, and request as many missions as she could from the Hokage once she was placed on her team. The more missions a shinobi had, the more income they brought home to their families, and though still only five years old, Shin was very well versed in the concept of money.

For example, her and her mother had none.

It was at this thought that she was met with a force, and fell down onto her backside with a small 'oomph.' The girl looked up, her coal eyes glaring up at the boy who had blocked her way. It wasn't that she was angry at him, it was the very reasons she was becoming a kunoichi at such a young age that were pounding at the back of her mind. The ground was dirty, and Amaya couldn't afford to bring the laundry to the mat more than twice a month. This meant not only that Shin would be teased, but that Amaya would feel guilty for it.

"Excuse me," the boy said, and it was then her eyes softened. His voice, though deep, was soft and concerned - so much different from the others in her class, who only laughed and taunted her as she walked by. Did they not know that she was significantly younger than they were? That, while they had to wait until they were seven years old, she passed the entrance exam at only five? Maybe she was poor, and dirty, and maybe she looked nothing like her mother and did not have a father like the rest of them but she was younger and already so much stronger than all of them.

Well, almost all of them - there was the exception of the young prodigy that had just knocked her to the ground.

Itachi reached out his hand to help her, and she said nothing as her cold hand touched his and she was lifted from the ground.

"I apologize," he said, hoping to coax some sort of response out of her as he took her in; short, blood red hair that hung to her ears, and eyes just as dark as his were. She was strange, he concluded, but not for the way the other students said. She was strange in appearance, in gesture, but everything else about her was no different then the other abnormal qualities that clung to each individual shinobi.

But still she said nothing, only nodding and walking past the boy as if he had never been there to begin with.

Itachi's eyes softened as he glanced down at the hand that had touched hers, and then back in the direction she had run off in only discover she was already gone.

...

"How was your first day of school, honey?"

Shin ducked underneath the tilted ceiling, staring down at her mother's backside in amusement. Amaya was on all fours, stuck between the crawl space in the back of the living room closet and the mess of boxes that were being piled outside the door.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice just loud enough for Amaya to hear. The brunette pretended not to notice the sudden change of subject, and gave a small laugh.

"Cleaning this place out," she said. "I've been meaning to do it for while, but I haven't had the time. Today's my only day off so I figured I may as well start it. Now, tell me how your day was?"

There was no answer, for Shin had already left, gently closing her bedroom door behind her and laying in the mess of sheets that were her bed.

She could only hope that the second day of school would be better than the first.

...

"Kaa! Kaa! Wake up, I have great news!"

The seven year old pulled enthusiastically on the sheets of her mothers bed, her coal eyes shining brightly as she coaxed the woman to wake up. It was her seventh birthday, and today she had graduated the Academy as second best in the class. The first was Itachi Uchiha, the same boy who had knocked her over on the first day of school what now seemed like ages ago - the same boy who had silently encouraged her throughout the years, despite her quiet nature and her reserved jealousy.

Their friendship did not automatically start after their first encounter. Shin was an introvert, as Itachi's mother described it - she preferred the solace of her own company as opposed to that of others, and her being picked on throughout the years did not help much in her transformation into a social butterfly. But for some reason her detached nature did not deter him. Had it been any one else, the young man was sure he would have left them alone, but there was something so... curious in the black eyes of the red haired child that he could not let it go.

So he remained her equally silent counterpart, helping her from the shadows as she progressed through the classes. If she had been holding a weapon wrong, he would sneak up behind her and re-position her hand. If she was having trouble with an assignment - which hadn't been more than twice, since she was fairly good at logical thinking - he would show her a different way of solving the problem, and if she was being picked on he would wait in the background for her to leave and then fix the issue himself - usually in the form of unspoken threats, his newly discovered red eyes doing the talking for him.

Itachi had come to accept Shin's lack of words, but that did not discourage him from prying. He would often try - and fail - to start a conversation with the small girl with the dark eyes, the same girl who may have been his only competition for first pick at the Academy. He had often wondered of her and her home life. Did she belong to a clan? Did she carry a kekki genki? Were her parents shinobi as well? But he never asked, knowing that some things were meant to kept private.

"What is it, Shinwari?" Amaya asked, her eyes only slightly opened as she half-gasped for air. Though Shin was still as petite as ever, if not more so, the muscle that had been accumulated around her bones made the seven year old twice as heavy as she looked.

"I graduated!" she grinned. "I took the test and I graduated early!"

It was then Amaya shot up, the corners of her eyes red with sickness, and her words cruel.

"Get out."

"But, Kaa - "

"Shin, I said _get out._"

And so the seven year old bit her lip and turned her back to her mother, gently closing the door behind her. She made her way to her bedroom, and it was only when she saw the small card on her bed did a few tears slip from her eyes.

_'Happy birthday, Shin-chan,'_ it read, and was signed by Itachi Uchiha.

...

Days passed and not a single word was exchanged between mother and daughter. Amaya Itoru continued on in pain; her lungs were aching, her eyes were burning, and there were contractions in her chest she wasn't sure what from. Not to mention the mental strain she had felt when her daughter had come home with the initial paycheck for becoming a kunoichi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Shin had set in on the table and went to her room as she had ever since her graduation, not saying a single word to the brunette woman.

Amaya only spent half of it to pay off the bills and wash the laundry, and had left the rest of it for Shin to buy new clothes. She had left her a note - _need something form fitting and easy to run in, love Mom, _and had left for work earlier than expected.

It wasn't that she was disappointed in her daughter - the pride she felt was practically leaking out of her skin - it was that for the first time since Shin was a baby, the woman was absolutely petrified of what would become of her future. Amaya had half-hoped that Shin would drop out of the academy once she realized how hard the path she had chosen would be, but she had known all along that Shin would become a prodigy in her own right. Now, on top of fearing for her daughters life, she would have to be cautious and find a way to make sure that the child's true strength would never arise out of the small container that was her body.

If it did, not only could it possibly destroy the young child if not properly wielded, there was a chance her father would find out and come back for her.

On top of her health issues, it was just too much to handle.

It must have been the combination of stresses, along with the intense feeling of guilt for ignoring her child, that caused Amaya's heart to stop and her body to shut down as her red headed daughter showed up outside the sushi shack with a bouquet of flowers and the saddest look on her face. Her world went black as the flowers dropped to the ground and Shin sprinted towards her mother.

As fate would have it, Itachi Uchiha had just finished training with his father and was currently on his way to the market to pick up groceries for his mother as soon as Amaya had fallen. He had quickly ran over to Shin, who had been in the process of lifting her mother up, and had offered to carry her to the hospital. The girl was skeptical at first, but she had no reason not to trust him.

They arrived and Amaya was immediately put into surgery. An hour later, Itachi was gone and Shin was left with a sinking feeling in her chest.

_I have to meet my Father._

She had nodded in understanding, though she really didn't - understand, that is. She didn't understand fathers, or why people had them. And she didn't understand why she had gotten so mad at Itachi for talking about his, when having a father really didn't matter, anyways.


	2. Chapter 2

**A Tale of Ravens**

**...**

Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.

Mark Twain

**...**

**Chapter Two: Before**

...

Four years later Amaya was put on disability and could no longer work a stable job. The Hokage had it so she would receive just enough per month to pay the rent and feed both her and Shin, so anything Shin brought home was used to pay off Amaya's excessive hospital bills; three surgeries in the past four years, and two week-long hospitalizations after that. The numbers were racking up faster than Shin could pick up missions, but they had been more comfortable than they had been before.

On Shin's eleventh birthday, Amaya got out of bed early in the morning and walked over to the Uchiha compound. She ignored the stares as she made her way over to the main house, a stern look on her face as she crossed over the border that separated them and walked to the door.

A woman with dark hair and even darker eyes answered the door, her face bearing lines of stress but her eyes still bright and full of life.

"Good morning," Amaya said with a small bow. "I'm sorry to intrude like this, but today is my daughter's birthday, and it seems she has become good friends with your son, Itachi. Do you think we could have him over for dinner tonight?"

The brunette woman knew there was a possibility of trouble the moment she had walked through the Uchiha gates. She knew the Uchiha's were secretive and did not like outsiders, and she knew anything she could say could unleash something she wasn't sure she wanted any part of. But she also knew that the only person in this world that could make her daughter smile was apart of this family, and after everything her little girl had been through, the least she deserved was to have a good birthday.

Amaya was honestly surprised when the woman smiled.

"You must be Shin's mother," she said, opening the door so that the brunette could see the inside of her home. "Would you like to come in for some tea? Itachi should be returning soon."

Amaya was honestly surprised that such a well-known woman knew the name of her daughter, but she made no comment towards it as she entered the house. While Shin had never openly spoken about Itachi, it was obvious that it was not the same on the other end. Amaya had only picked up on their friendship due to the gossip around the village, and the small notes she would find stashed in her daughters room had eventually given it away. The only possible way the Uchiha matron could know of Shin was if the boy had spoken about her, which would make more sense; not all children lived a life where they were practically a mute, as the small red haired child did. Most children could carry conversations, could make friends and talk about them to their families...

But Shin was not most children, and she never could be.

...

Two weeks after her birthday, Shin was sent on a mission to the Land of Wind that had lasted about three days, and had arrived home just in time for the cherry blossom festival. To the eleven year old, the festival wasn't even an option; she had missed it every year due to her mother's sickness or the constant string of missions she had picked up since graduating the academy. So she was quite surprised as she walked up the outside staircase that led to the door of her second story apartment to find Itachi was waiting for her outside the door.

"Shin-chan," he greeted, and she responded with a small nod. Itachi took the grocery bags from her hands, waiting for her to open the door and let the both of them in.

"Itachi," Amaya called from the couch as the two entered the living room. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be out celebrating?"

"Actually, that's why I'm here. I was wondering if it would be alright if Shin accompanied me to the festival?"

Shin watched with wide eyes as the boy placed the groceries on the table, turning towards her mother just as he had. She was in mild disbelief, and unsure how to process it. Had he really just asked her mothers permission... for a question that should have been directed towards her instead? Shin was a kunoichi, a vital asset to a military force, and though she was not cocky she believed that risking her life every day was enough to constitute her deciding for herself whether or not she would go somewhere as silly as a festival.

"I don't see why not," Amaya responded, ignoring her daughters confused stares. "Just don't get into any trouble."

"Of course not, Itoru-san," Itachi replied with a small bow. Shin sighed, making her way to the back of the apartment and into her room. She threw her hair up in a short ponytail, since it had grown down to her shoulders and was quickly becoming a burden. Her eyes narrowed as she stared into her closet, which was almost as dusty as it was empty. She didn't own any festival clothes... she owned tight fitting shorts and pants, long sleeved black shirts, kunai pouches and flexible jackets...

"Shin," her mother called from the doorway. "Is it okay if I come in?"

"Of course," she replied, though her thoughts spoke differently. _Would you listen to me if I said no? Would I get an opinion in that, or would you answer for me as you did with Itachi? _But being upset was beyond her - it had to be, it always had to be...

"I figured you might be having trouble... I think this will fit you," Amaya said, kneeling down and holding out her arm. Shin fingered the black silk in her mothers hands, a warm smile creeping onto her face.

"Thank you, Kaa-san... I'm sure it's beautiful..."

"You look nice with your hair down," and with that the woman was gone, leaving Shin to get changed. The dress wrapped around her perfectly, crisscrossing over her chest as a kimono would and tightening at the waist. The sleeves were tight, stopping halfway down her arms, and the hem fell just above her knees. She took one last look in the mirror, deciding to follow her mothers advice and letting her hair fall down to her shoulders. Her appearance wasn't pretty, she knew this. Her skin was paper white, which was an awful contract with her slanted black eyes and her obnoxiously red hair, but she wasn't ugly either. The only word she could think of to describe herself was abnormal, but that didn't sound too good either.

Itachi's face told a different story. When she walked out of the room his eyes went wide, and had he not been _him_ he was sure his face would have flushed from the surprise.

"How have you been?" Itachi asked as they descended down the staircase. The Uchiha would not deny that he was taken aback at first at the sight of the neighborhood the first night he had been invited over. While it was obvious Shin was from the poorer side of the community, he had not expected her to live in such a... dangerous part of town. In the Uchiha compound, they called these small apartment complexes at the edge of the village The Slums, simply because of it's destroyed architect and increasing crime rate.

"Okay," Shin replied.

"And your mission?"

"Successful."

Itachi nodded, taking in the silence as they entered the main part of the village. He pretended not to notice the stares of the citizens who passed them by, pretended not to hear the whispers escaping their lips as they gazed upon the two shinobi. Whispers like, w_hat is Itachi Uchiha doing hanging out with a girl like that?_ And,_ do you think they're dating? They couldn't be. There's a greatness in him that would only be slowed by an urchin like that._

Most people, even the most collected shinobi, would have bursted into fits of rage if they ever heard someone talking about them in such a disrespectful way, but even at only eleven years old her emotional standing as a kunoichi was perfected. How she managed to let so many people talk down on her when she made a commitment to risk her life for their very own -

"When's your next assignment?" Shin asked, and the boy almost jumped out of his skin. Shin never initiated a conversation, and talking to her was more like talking circles around yourself than anything else.

But still he managed a small smile, pleased that she was trying, and shoved his thoughts and the whispers of the villagers to the back of his mind.

"Tomorrow."

"And how long will you be gone for?"

"A month's time."

Shin nodded, trying to ignoring the aching in her chest at the thought of not seeing the raven haired boy for as long as a month. She didn't understand why she felt that way;ma month was barely anything, especially for someone who was making his way up the ranks as fast as Itachi was.

"I'll be back in time for your exams," he said, breaking the silence once more. He pretended not to notice the way her eyes lit up at the statement, how her pale lips curled into a small smile and her fists unclenched at her sides. Shin was... odd, to say the least, and Itachi wasn't sure what it was about her that made him always want to be there. She was timid, quiet, and most of the time unfeeling. But she had this way about her - these small gestures that let him know she was paying attention, that there was something about her that cared, if only just a little.

"Good," she said, the lights of the village beginning to shine as they reached the border of the festival. People were all over, running around with their children and playing games. Shin had never before been to somewhere so social, but she ignored her nerves and entered the celebration, trying her best to ignore the tick in the back of her head telling her she really did not want Itachi to go.

...

A month later Itachi returned to Kohana battered and bruised. Though he had the opportunity to rest after his infiltration had been completed, he had decided to instead hurry home. Shin would be waiting at the gates for him, and knowing her she would be there at least an hour early... which meant if he was late, she would be waiting even longer, and for some reason the young prodigy just could not have that.

He was surprisingly disappointed that when he and his team entered Kohana she wasn't there to greet him. He had asked the guards if they had seen her, the girl with the messy red hair, but they had simply shaken their heads. _Shinwari Natasu? Whose that? We're sorry, we have no idea._

So instead of going straight home, which he knew he should have done - he had an obligation to the Uchiha, after all - he decided to go back to the Slums of the village and check on the small girl he called friend. If Shin broke her word, there had to be a good reason. There was no way she could have been called away on a mission since the Chuunin exams were only a day away, and it wasn't as if Shin had any other friends. The only thing he could think of was...

Itachi turned right when he was supposed to turn left, instead making his way towards the hospital.

_..._

"Itachi."

His name was a whisper, one between shaking lips. He rushed over to her, not saying a word as he took her into his arms. She didn't sob, didn't speak; only leaned against his chest in the silence of the white walls, waiting for someone to come and tell her the verdict.

...

Shin left the hospital the next morning once the medical shinobi had informed her that her mother would be fine. Amaya would stay in the hospital while Shin was away at the Chuunin exams. Itachi promised her that he would check in on her mother in the days spent in the forest of death, and that he would be waiting for her at the finish line.

Shin fought through with a fury, her team sustaining the least amount of injuries and being the second to cross over from the forest and back into civilization. The young girl immediately left her teammates in search of her friend, but there was no sign of him anywhere.

She would have gone to the Uchiha compound, but she didn't have the guts. While Itachi was always friendly and polite, she had heard stories of the other Uchiha members and their cold attitudes towards those who entered their gates. Shin could only assume that Itachi had something more pressing to attend to, and she would see him later.

It was announced that in one month the final match of the exam would take place. She would be put against Shiro Kui, the youngest holder of the Ayatsura at fourteen. She remembered him from school; they had graduated at the same time, though she was significantly younger than him. He was known for his intense anger issues; his ability to snap at the drop of a dime was as irritating as it was scary, and the sheer strength he carried with one punch could send even the strongest shinobi flying.

Still, Shin was confident she could take him, especially if she had a month before to train. Her teammates had both sought out individual teachers of their own, leaving Shin to her own devices.

But she had forgotten - as she often had - that she was no longer alone in the world, and that the stresses of the universe had been shared with another. For when she arrived at the training grounds, Itachi was already there waiting for her.

...

"Shiro Kui vs. Shinwari Natasu."

Shin glanced over at the two Uchiha boys standing next to her, giving a slight nod before lifting herself over the railing and jumping into the ring. Her opponent was already there waiting for her, his pale purple eyes staring her down as she made her way to the center of the arena.

"Well, well. If it isn't the great Shinwari, the second greatest shinobi in our class. Graduated at what, seven years old?"

Shin's black eyes narrowed, but she said nothing as she took in the brunette in front of her. He looked like a typical Kui member: brown hair, pale eyes, the stress marks of someone who grew too old too fast. It started to dawn on her how so many children never got the chance to just be children, forced into a world of war... forced to be adults before their time... forced to lose everything they've ever had...

"What's with the look, Shin-chan? You scared?"

Shin had to admire him; even though he was probably one of the strongest shinobi of his class, he still managed such a care free attitude. He was about to fight for his rank in front of over half the village, and yet instead of strategizing with the few minutes he did have, he chose to pick on her...

She couldn't help but smile.

"What? You thinking about your boyfriend, Shin-chan?"

And then she stopped, her lips curling down and her eyebrows stressing inward. She knew exactly who he was talking about, and the girl in her wanted to deny that fact to him and to the entire village. Itachi was _not_ her boyfriend, she did not want him in that way. What was it with these people, always having to gossip? Always having to make her feel worthless, unworthy of having a friend?

"You know, I don't know know what he sees you in. Do you think he actually likes you, or just pities you? Poor little urchin girl with no friends..."

When the bell rang to signal the match the red haired child wasted no time. One minute she was in front of him, the next she was behind him with her hand flat, shaped like a knife and ramming into the back of his neck. Shiro fell forward, using the ground as leverage to flip himself backwards and land on the other side of the ring. When he looked up his eyes were glowing - bright purple orbs staring down at the girl as if she was nothing more than a scrap of dirt on the bottom of the boy's feet.

"Ayastura," Shin whispered, causing the boy to grin. Shiro Kui was the youngest holder of the Ayastura in history, activating his at only eleven years old. Three years later, he had been training under the clan head in it's arts and was well on his way to becoming a master. By the time he was a Jounin, he would be practically unstoppable.

"Oh, now you can talk," she heard him call. "Might as well forfeit now."

She glanced up at Itachi, his cold eyes watching her every move. He had spent an entire month training her for this very moment. How lucky was she, that her only friend held the same kekki genki the Ayastura was created to counteract?

_This_ moment was what she had been training for. She hadn't spent the last month in constant pain and exhaustion for some useless sparring match - she had spent it preparing herself to go up against the all seeing eye.

_Like the Sharigan, the wielder of the Ayastura is able to see chakra flow, but unlike the sharigan they are not able to manipulate the flow in order to put their opponents under genjutsu. Instead, the user sees the world in two colors: black, and purple. The black is their opponents natural energy, their body contour, and the purple is the chakra being used - in more simple terms, the user can tell where their opponent will move before they do so. This is why they are such a threat to the Uchiha clan - they can mock our moves just as easily as we can mock theirs, and their own body's chakra flow has been known to outmatch ours._

Itachi's words were reinforced as Shiro grabbed her upper arm and flipped her over his shoulders; she landed on her feet and charged, but the boy was too quick - he managed to counter her every move, knowing exactly where she was aiming for before she even attacked. She was desperately trying to remember the rest, but he was moving too fast and her brain was moving too slow. Did she really waste a month preparing for this just to forget everything she had learned?

_But remember, just because they can see your next move doesn't mean they can react in time. It's the same if you were facing someone with the sharigan - knowing the next move of your opponent is useless if you cannot keep up with them. That's why it is so vital to master each of the shinobi arts._

But she didn't expect Shiro to be _this _fast. Didn't expect him to rain down this hell on her...

She was snapped out of her thoughts as she was knocked to the ground again. The brown haired boy was on top of her in an instant, one hand wrapping around her neck and the other held behind him. Shin squinted, the lack of oxygen making the world around her fuzzy. There was a bright purple light coming from Shiro's hand, his smirk widening as she gasped for air.

"Come on, little prodigy, is this the best you have to offer?"

The crowd was cheering around them, and she tried to calm herself down but it was just so hard as the oxygen was slipping from her with every passing second. She tried to remind herself not to feel, not to let them get to her but there was a chance this boy could kill her and the villagers were _cheering_. Did they really hate her that much? And why... what did she ever do to them to deserve this?

Shin closed her wanted to... maybe if she jblack eyes as memories rushed through her head. She wondered how her mother would feel, knowing she was a failure... wondered what Itachi and his cousin were thinking as they watched her be defeated in less than ten minutes... wondered if she would recover from whatever Shiro was conjuring... wondered if she just died, if she ceased to exist... maybe the world would be much better.

Something in her snapped.

Just as Shiro's hand came crashing down, her own shot up and caught his wrist. Her eyes snapped open, previously black eyes replaced by shining red ones.

"What the - "

But it was too late. Shin had twisted his arm back, the hand around her throat loosening as she shot up. She was behind him in the next instant, grabbing him by the back of the shirt and thrusting him towards the ground.

_The Kui clan are already masters at chakra control, and the Ayastura exemplifies that. When activated, the member is able to direct chakra to any part of their body in an instant, either to instantly create jutsu or make those certain parts of their body stronger..._

The crowd was silent, but she did not look up, too busy focused on Shiro's back as she pulled his arm forward. The boy grunted, and when he turned to look at her he was almost surprised to see that her black eyes had returned. Had he imagined them...? Had the sudden force that had come out of the young girl scared him into believing she was something more than she really was?

"Come on, little prodigy, is this the best you have to offer?" she asked, her voice still barely a whisper but he heard it clear as day. Shin swore she could hear crickets chirping in the background as the boy tried to pick himself back up only for her foot to come crashing down on his back. There was a sudden pain in her stomach, but she ignored it as she did everything else.

_But while that seems ideal, it also makes the body parts lacking chakra much weaker... _

Shin applied more pressure to the boys back. His chakra hadn't dispersed yet, and if she could just block his pathways before it had a chance it would be easy to defeat him. However, the boy was still a prodigy, which meant he still had leverage over her. His chakra infused hand grabbed her ankle, sending a shockwave of electricity through her body. She screeched, falling back as her body began to shake.

He grinned as he sat up, wiping the blood from his cheeks and grinning menacingly. He certainly didn't expect _this. _The young Kui couldn't help but marvel at the surprise that the young girl could actually hold her own in a fight, but she was eleven years old with no proper shinobi background, and he was a good fourteen with years of training from the masters. While she was strong and obviously intelligent, the odds just weren't in her favor.

He charged before her body had time to recover from the shock, sending a hit straight to her gut. Blood fell from her mouth as she doubled over, her hands wrapping around her stomach seemingly to prevent him from hitting her again. His fist pulled back, but before he could strike her leg shot up from underneath her, kicking him straight in the jaw.

He flew backwards, landing in the rubble that had become the stadium around them. The crowd was still eerily silent. It was no surprise that almost every villager attending had placed their bets on the Ayastura holder... there was no way someone like Shin could beat someone from a clan like the Kui...

When Shiro looked up, his eyes were once again a pale purple, and his the spot where she had kicked him was already bruising. But it wasn't just bruised, it was burnt; his jawline was red and charred, his skin aching as if someone had just thrown a fireball at him. But there was no fire, no jutsu...

"How is this possible?" he asked as she charged at him, blooding still dripping down her face. She jumped up, performing hand seals in record time before landing in front of him. She squatted down, her eyes to the floor as she placed her hands on the ground. Flames shot up from the ground, encircling Shiro's ankles and dragging him to the ground.

Her stomach began to burn with every movement, but again she ignored it. The adrenaline was overpowering her.

She was done being looked down upon by the villagers, by everyone - done being the doormat for so many people to walk over. She was strong, stronger than most shinobi, even those years ahead of her and she was using that strength to protect all of them. Every mission, every day, and now she was taking the chuunin exams to qualify for more dangerous missions. She was risking her life and _nobody gave a shit. _

This was her chance - her only chance to prove them all wrong, to prove she was more than just a bastard child from the Slums...

"Your... eyes..." he gasped through the burning pain that was flowing through his body. The flames had reached his wrists now, pinning him to the ground "What the hell are you?"

_So you must be fast, but above all else smart... strategy is key, you cannot simply walk into this fight and win on pure strength._

Shin grinned, her glowing eyes staring him down.

"Your worst nightmare."

With a final seal the flames wrapped around his entire body, before disappearing completely as soon as the match was called.

"Winner: Shinwari Natasu!"

And as the crowd began to cheer she turned towards the stadium to look for her only friend, the only person that believed in her from the very beginning. She scanned the area for what felt like an eternity, trying to convince herself that he was still there - he just _had_ to be there, and when she finally came to terms with the truth - that Itachi wasn't there, that he had left her - the adrenaline finally dispersed as her body shut down and her world went black.


	3. Chapter 3

**A Tale of Ravens**

...

"In the space between yes and no, there's a lifetime. It's the difference between the path you walk and the one you leave behind; it's the gap between who you thought you could be and who you really are; its the legroom for the lies you'll tell yourself in the future."

― Jodi Picoult, _Change of Heart_

...

**Chapter Three: Before**

...

When Shin awoke the world around her was fuzzy and cold. There were people moving around her in a frantic haze, screaming at each other in all directions. She had no idea where was she was, and the mere unknowingly sent her body straight into attack mode. But when she tried to sit up her body was immediately pushed back down by one of the bodies in the room, and chakra cuffs began to form around her wrists as she struggled against them.

They were talking to her, but she couldn't hear them. No part of her body was functioning right; her eyes couldn't focus, her hearing was going in and out, and her muscles were so weak she could barely put up a fight against whoever it was holding her down. Why was this happening to her? And oh god, what was that burning pain in her stomach? Why was it so bright? Was she finally seeing the light? And would she be good enough for the Heavens when the life finally slipped from her? Would she be able to rest in peace?

She felt a prick in her arm, and the tears began to fall down her cheeks as her thoughts were cut off and the world went black once more.

...

Amaya Itoru had been on the couch when they showed up to her doorstep. Two shinobi dressed in the black and gray of the ANBU, waiting patiently with their hands tucked behind their backs. Their faces were covered by masks, their only notable attributes being their hair - one silver, slightly taller than the brunette next to him.

"Amaya Itoru?" the brunette asked.

"What..." the woman practically gasped, thoughts racing through her mind at uncontrollable speeds. "What's going on?"

"Please come with us," the silver haired ANBU continued.

"Not until you tell me whats going on! Is it Shin? What... where is my daughter!?"

"Itoru-san, we ask that you remain calm and follow us to the Hokage building."

"The... Hokage building?" Her eyes narrowed. The Hokage had not called on her since his agreement to start providing disability for her small family of two, and before then it had been years since he had even acknowledged her existence. She had taken in a controversial child she had agreed to raise and protect above all else, and it was only _now_ he wanted to see her? Ever since Shin became a kunoichi of the village, all updates of her growth had ceased completely; if Sarutobi wanted to check on Shin, all he had to do was call her in for an exam, not to mention he was the one who personally delivered her missions. "What could he possibly need from me?"

"Miss, please don't make this difficult."

Amaya gritted her teeth, knowing well there was no way out of this.

"Let me grab my coat," she said, before turning her back towards them. She bit her lip, the anxiety in her heart making its way to her bones as she went towards her closet.

...

_I was an outcast in the Village for as long as I can remember. I was a bastard child of a prestigious woman and a man unknown, shipped from another land to live under the care of a local orphanage. Kohana was supposed to be a sanctuary for so many, but only those whose lives fell into a certain standard. If you were different, you were trash, and the villagers made sure you knew it._

_So I set out to prove them wrong. At seven years old I signed myself up for the Shinobi Academy, and by ten years old I had passed with flying colors while most of my peers were still learning how to hold a shuriken without slicing themselves. By thirteen, I passed the chuunin exams and while I still continued on with my team, I was now a leader instead of a subordinate. _

_ Of course this didn't sit right with some - how could a thirteen year old lead other capable, older shinobi in missions? How could a thirteen year old with no suitable clan history, no special powers be able to become a chuunin? How could the Hokage let this pass? So many questions, so many accusations, and it got no better even as the war continued and I was promoted to jounin at only seventeen._

_By the time the fighting had settled and I had returned home - after I had spent years of my life protecting a village that would not protect me, I was sick of it. I had given the Hokage my word; one final mission, and I was retiring._

_And then I met your father, and everything changed._

...

"Good morning, Shinwari-chan."

Shin opened her eyes, and while the room was still bright and headache inducing she appreciated the numbness the rest of her body felt. She sat up, her red hair falling over her face, and she took note of the lack of chakra cuffs as she reached up to remove it from her vision.

"Shisui?" she asked, almost shocked at the boy who sat at the edge of her hospital bed. "Wheres Itachi?"

The boy sighed, running a hand through his short hair as the young girl's stomach twisted in knots. She had only met Itachi's cousin twice; once when she had returned from a mission and had gone to the river to relax, only to find Itachi sparring with the elder boy, and then the day of the chuunin exams when they had both escorted her to the arena. They had never said more than the occasional hello, and the coal eyed girl had a gut feeling that he did not appreciate her presence at all. So why was he there, instead of Itachi? Why was he sitting at the edge of her bed instead of the boy who was supposed to be her best, admittedly only friend?

"He's busy," Shisui responded. "He asked me to come check up on you."

Only half of it was a lie, but Shin accepted it as truth. Itachi was busy, he was _always_ busy - could anyone expect anything else from the heir of a clan such as the Uchiha? But that did not mean the boy did not purposely make time for the girl in front of Shisui - the girl with the messy red hair, dark black eyes, and the palest skin the boy had ever seen. The girl whose face was twisted at angles that made her striking, yet so odd. The girl whose silence was enough for a prodigy to hold on to some sense of false hope that _maybe_ something could be hidden under those small smiles and casual gestures.

Shisui sighed once more. Itachi hadn't asked him to check up on her, the Body Flicker had chosen to simply because he needed to see for himself - see the allure of a child that was messed up enough to be a pariah of a village of peace yet... strong enough to defeat the youngest Kui member in history to master something as powerful as the Ayastura. Strong enough to be one of of three candidates to pass the chuunin exams that year, when there were over forty participating.

A child born of a sick civilian mother, with no shinobi history, who was well on her way to becoming... well...

"Shisui?" her voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he took note of how she only spoke in whispers. "I'm... okay now."

She was dismissing him, he _knew_ that, but there was this aching feeling in his gut that he couldn't leave her yet. So they both carried on in silence until the nurses arrived to change out Shin's IVs and give her medicine that would have her back on her feet and out of the hospital when the end of the day came.

And when the time came and Shin changed out of the hospital gown and into her same dirty clothes she had arrived in, she felt something she had never experience before -

Disappointment.

And it hurt _so _bad that she couldn't help but resent Itachi for all he was.

...

_It seems our worst fears are slowly coming to life,_ the Hokage had said as Amaya was hand delivered to his office.

Amaya was walking in circles around the village. It had been a week since the chuunin exams, and Shin had been knocked out for most of it. The kunoichi at the hospital had explained that they had put the eleven year old under a medically induced coma in order to keep her from lashing out during treatment. They had pulled the plug that morning and Shin had immediately woken up on her own, but Amaya just couldn't bring herself to visit her. The conversation with the Third was still ringing in her ears and she did not want the first words exchanged between herself and her daughter to be ones she would regret later.

_Shinwari has inherited her fathers fire._

Amaya had begun to read Reikyo's journal again, hoping there would be answers in there that would help Amaya control her daughters newfound rage, but reading them just set the brunette waitress off even more. Instead of giving Shin something that could actually help her, she had written over fifty pages of some sad, sick, and twisted love story. Was being remembered for everything had done all Reikyo wanted? She would rather her daughter know who she was instead of helping her daughter through the pain she had caused by -

Amaya was cut off mid-thought as a blur of red caught her eye. All stress seemed to cease as she raced towards the young kunoichi, her arms wrapping around her.

"Shin," she whispered, kneeling down and burying her face into her daughters neck, ignoring the stares of the villagers who passed them. It didn't matter what they thought - what any of them thought, and it was at that moment Amaya realized that it didn't matter what Shin was, who her father was, and that Reikyo stopped mattering the minute she had died. All that mattered was that Shinwari Natasu was her daughter, and she was still alive.

"I'm so glad you're alright. I love you so much, Shin-chan," _and we will get through this_.

"Thank you, Kaa..." Shin whispered, pulling herself away from her mothers hold. "I'm so sorry for worrying you. Let's go home, okay?"

"Okay."

And they both believed everything would be.

...

"Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen looked up from the pile of paperwork on his desk and into the dark eyes of Reikyo's daughter.

"Shinwari, please, no need to be so stiff. I did not call you here to scold you."

Shin nodded, but she did not relax. It had been two days since she left the hospital and she had been denied entry of participating in missions with her team even though she was medically cleared. She had gone to the Hokage's office the day before requesting an audience, but was denied without reason.

But that morning she had been summoned, and she swore she had never gotten dressed than she had the moment the two ANBU showed up at her front door to escort her there. She didn't even question why she needed an escort, which in itself was odd since messenger birds were enough to communicate.

"I would like to personally congratulate you on passing the Chuunin exams, and hand you your official Chuunin vest."

Shin's eyes went wide and her fists unclenched, falling limp at her side in shock.

"Is there something wrong, Shinwari?"

"N-no Hokage-sama," she whispered. "I just... are you sure? Are you really sure I passed?"

Hiruzen lifted an eyebrow, a small smile creeping on his lips as he recounted his previous interactions with the young girl. She was quiet, practically a mute, never revealing any of her emotions in any situation. The first time he had truly seen her angry was during her fight against Shiro, and even then she was able to properly execute every attack without faltering even once - even attacks she had never used before, or even knew she was capable of.

The old man couldn't help but wonder if the girl even knew what she had done to beat Shiro, or if the memory of her flames was diluted in the mess of her black out.

He could only hope for the latter, but would not bring it up in order to avoid triggering any further events. He had spoken to Amaya after the chuunin exams to help her deal with what may come, but as long as Shin remained calm and focused as she was now, Hiruzen had no doubt the Natasu girl would be completely fine.

"Of course, Shinwari. I am not one to joke about things as important as this."

"But..." she stopped, trying to form words but her head was spinning with so many possibilities. "My team was dispatched the day I was medically cleared, and I was told I was unable to join them. I thought... I was being punished."

"For what?"

She sighed.

"I... I don't remember what happened at the exams, Hokage-sama. I remember it up until Shiro had been pinned to the ground, and the rest of it was a blur. I thought... I thought maybe I killed him."

The man would have laughed had it not been for how broken the girl looked, how sad her eyes were and how her hands were shaking at her sides. "I didn't, did I?" she asked and had Sarutobi Hiruzen not been a shinobi, he would have never heard her.

"Of course not," the man replied, letting out a sigh of relief. _So she doesn't know... _"And even if you had, it is an nonpunishable act due to the rules of the exam."

Shin nodded, a sense of relief flooding over her as she stepped forward and picked up the vest from his desk.

"You were barred from the mission because you are no longer apart of that team. Out of all of the candidates this year, only three passed... which means you are to be re-grouped into a team that meets your standards of expertise."

"Standard of..." her voice fell dull. "Oh."

"Congratulations, Shin-chan. You will meet your team tomorrow morning at the river."


	4. Chapter 4

**A Tale of Ravens**

...

The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of those depths.

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

...

**Chapter Four: Before**

...

"So today's the day you meet your team, hm?"

Shin's head snapped to the side, her eyes widening as she stared into the dark eyes of the Uchiha boy.

"Shisui..." his name was barely a whisper, but he could still hear the surprise lingering behind it. The red haired girl honestly did not expect the see the elder Uchiha after his initial visit in the hospital, and yet here he was, trying to worm his way into her life like...

She stopped herself mid-thought. She couldn't think of him. Her orders were specific: do not think of anything that makes you feel, and he just made her feel _so much._

"Congratulations are in order, you know. Only three shinobi graduated the exams this year, and you were one of them."

Shin nodded in response, strands of hair slipping from her ponytail and falling slightly over her face. Shisui took her in - all of her, this time, not just the sickly looking girl from the hospital. She was tiny, but she was muscular, and while she was young her face had thinned in such a way that made her look older, if only by a little. She wore all black; tight pants that wrapped down to her ankles, a black shirt that fell right above her naval and stopped at her shoulders, and her chunnin vest that had lazily been left open.

"Well, we're almost to the river," Shisui said., placing a hand on her shoulder. "I should be heading back to the compound."

He turned, as just as he was prepared to flicker away he stopped, his eyes wide as a shiver ran up his spine at the sound of her voice.

"Thank you, Shisui."

And with a sad smile he was gone.

...

As soon as Shisui had vanished she had started sprinting. She hadn't needed to, since the river was less than a mile away, but there was just an ache in her stomach left by the Uchiha's presence, and in order to prevent herself from thinking she needed to move - needed to run.

When she had arrived at the river she was greeted by the backs of two boys, and the moment they turned around her heart dropped and her fingernails dug into her palms.

"Oh," was all she could manage as her black eyes locked with the pale purple ones of the Kui boy in front of her.

"Are you _serious,_" Shiro said, his tone harsh as his eyes narrowed, giving her a once over before turning towards the boy next to him. "Hokage-sama's kidding, right?"

The boy next to him - an older boy in his late teens with slicked back black hair and beady eyes only let out a sigh.

"He has to be," he grumbled, "sticking me in a team with a bunch of little brats."

"You wanna say that again, punk?" Shiro growled, grabbing the boy by his shoulder and pushing him back. "Cause I can show you what a _brat_ really looks like."

...

"We're headed to the Land of Waves," the jounin spoke as they flew through the forest. "It's four days travel, give or take. We will take limited rest stops, so have your soldier pills ready in case we run into enemy shinobi. We need to be in and out of this mission in record time."

Neither of Shin's teammates had spoken to her since the day at the river, though they had warmed up to each other quite nicely. Aki Hyuuga was their leader, and he was quite distant from all three of the chuunin that had been put under him - understandably so, since his last team, apart from Testya, had been killed in action and he was still recovering from the emotional scars of losing his underlings. He had requested to be put on a separate assignment, to join his own team as a comrade rather than the leader, but the Hokage had denied him.

To summarize the entire situation, Aki Hyuuga was not happy.

And neither was anyone else, really.

So Shin remained distant from them, falling slightly back in the formation so she wouldn't have to hear their constant chattering between Shiro and Testya, and it was as she stared at the chuunin vests of her two teammates did she begin to wonder what she did to make them all dislike her so much in the first place.

Especially Shiro.

Did his hatred still stem from the pettiness of the academy? Or did something happen at the exams, something she couldn't remember?

And then her thoughts traveled back to the place that they weren't supposed to go, to Itachi's face crinkled up with worry on the sidelines, and she couldn't help but wonder if it was something she had done at the exams that had driven him away, too.

But even though her body was fighting to feel so much - disappointment, sadness, loneliness... she did not allow herself to succumb to any of them. She had to revert back to who she used to be, even if that was a shell of a child with no personality. Besides, wasn't that what the Hokage said had made her such an excellent shinobi? What made her stand out from so many others?

When Shin finally came back to reality she realized that Shiro had fallen back behind Tetsya, and had lined up along side her.

She raised an inquiring eyebrow.

"Having trouble keeping up, Shin-chan?" his voice was mocking, but it was no harsh as it had been before.

Shin immediately turned away from him, not bothering to respond. Even if he wasn't trying to be cruel, she couldn't help but suspect an underlying meaning to his sudden intrusion.

"Come on Shin, aren't we friends? You can tell me if you're having trouble."

Shiro was getting agitated, and it was evident on his face. What was it about this girl, he wondered, that made it so easy for her to pass by him as if he was nothing?

"You're no better than the rest of us," he responded, "just because you beat me in the - "

"You don't know me," she finally spoke, cutting him off, and the brown haired chuunin was honestly surprised at how soft her voice was. It wasn't just the subtle growl she held in her tone at the exam, but her features made her look... fierce, and unkind. But her voice was different; it was kind, but he couldn't help but notice the hint of sadness that lingered behind it.

Without another word Shiro took his place next to Tetsya, and the band of four continued on.

...

"She's been gone for two weeks."

"And?"

"And..." what was he supposed to say in this situation, really? He had been avoiding her ever since the exams, when the flames lifted from the ground and bound the Kui boy to the ground. Shisui had warned him immediately that accusations would be coming - it was no secret that Itachi and the red haired misfit were closer than anyone would have liked, and for her to use such prominent fire-based jutsu would only raise questions about Itachi's allegiance. He had recently been accepted into ANBU, which was enough to stir trouble within the clan, but now there was a non-Uchiha who could play with fire almost as deadly as the heir himself.

It bugged him because he hadn't taught her anything. He had trained her, yes - but only to defend herself against the Ayastura... something any shinobi could learn simply by studying the clan itself. In reality, Itachi had no idea Shin had any sort of elemental affinity, so whose right was it to say he was leaking secrets? But still...

He was the heir to the Uchiha clan, and even if he had already been put on one of the hardest duties imaginable - to spy on them, to make sure there would be no other attacks like that of the nine tails, and at the end of the day he could not handle them questioning him any longer.

So he had decided to stay away. And now, at a time like this when there was no word from her, when there was no sign of her return, he was beginning to regret that decision more than anything.

"Itachi? Hello? Are you still there?"

Itachi looked up to the elder Uchiha, the boy who was his best friend above all else, and gave a soft smile.

"I'm just concerned, is all," he said, his voice flat. "I should be getting back to my mission."

Shisui nodded, a knowing tension lingering in the air.

"You do that."

The elder Uchiha flickered away before Itachi had a chance to leave, and Shisui couldn't help but wonder how _he_ sensed her coming before Itachi, when he had known her for almost seven years now?

...

This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. It wasn't _possible._

The mission had been so simple even a genin could have done it: infiltrate the Land of Waves, grab the stolen scroll, and get out. They had gone in two at a time; first, Aki and Testya, and then Shin and himself. Aki and Testya's main part of the mission was the make sure there were no enemy forces waiting for them, and there hadn't been, but as soon as Shin had crossed the border they had been attacked. Plan B had been enacted; Shin and Testya had stayed behind to distract the enemy while Shiro and Aki split in search for the scroll.

Shiro had wanted to stay back and fight, but his eyes were a vital part of the mission. Along with Aki's Byakuugan, they were the best candidates to infiltrate the Village's main headquarters - they could see the nemy before they arrive, could scope out the base before they even entered. But Shiro had not signed up to be a spy - he had signed up to be a shinobi, a fighter. He could take out the mass of enemy shinobi on his own.

He was quick and reckless; as soon as they had received the scroll, he had sprinted back to him comrades - to the fight, even though Aki had ordered him to stay back. There was no way Shin and Testya could make it without him, he was convinced of it, and that conviction itself had been his downfall.

Because when he had gotten back to his teammates he realized they were just fine on their own, and while Testya was older and more experienced it was actually the coal eyed girl who had been the backbone for the two of them. Testya was faltering, and Shin was picking up his slack with ease, and once again Shiro's rage had spiraled because he just could not have someone like _her_ steal all of the glory from someone like him.

So he had charged into battle, scroll intact, and it was as if the enemy shinobi had known he had something of value because as soon as he entered the battle ground they all turned and charged at him with their swords drawn.

"Shiro!"

He activated the Ayastura as soon as he heard her voice, counteracting each shinobi's moves before they even had a chance to use them. Shin was running at him now, screaming - actually, _screaming_, which in itself should have warned him that this was not a battle he was suited to fight. He went to strike the shinobi running at him, his chakra charged at the palm of his hand, prepared to go straight through the enemy's chest but there was a blur of red and black, and suddenly his arm was sticking out of the chest of his teammate.

"Shin..." he whispered, as the blood began to fall from the girls lips. "Why..."

"It's...genjutsu," she whispered, slowly pulling her arms up into a single seal, every inch of her body shaking as she fought to move them. "Kai."

And the mist around them vanished, and he saw the enemy shinobi on the ground, his own sword pierced through his heart.

"There were only two of them!" Testya called, his voice panicked as he ran up to the two. "The genjutsu was to distract you while they prepared they're attack... if..." the boy stopped, his eyes going soft at the sight of Shin's face - strained, full of blood, the life slipping from them slowly. _No, this can't be happening again! I can't lose another one..._ "She... they would've killed you..."

Aki was there in an instant, grabbing the girl from Shiro's arms and pulling her to the ground.

"The other one was taken care of," he said, his voice harsh as the chakra made it's way to his fingertips. "I can stabilize her until we get back to the Leaf, but we have to move quickly. We'll take turns carrying her. We need to cut our time in half or she _will_ die."

And that's how it happened, how everything had gotten just so messed up. Shin was on Shiro's back as they made it through Kohana's gates, as the legend known as the Body Flicker appeared magically to take her to the hospital, and as Testya cried fell, crying out for the teammates he had already lost, and the one he almost had.

* * *

**Authors note:** thank you to everyone who has reviewed/followed/Favorited so far. I very much appreciate it. I hope this chapter wasn't too lame for you, seeing as Itachi only appeared once... but he'll be in most of the next chapter, and obviously the ones after that!

If you haven't already, please check out my new story Russian Roulette. It follows in par with this one, and will be updated as soon as I get to the part of this story where one will not spoil the other. The story follows Shiro's cousin starting in the first season of Naruto.

Again, thank you all so much! Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter :)


	5. Chapter 5

**A Tale of Ravens**

...

I know that even with the seams stitched tightly,  
darling scars will remain.

I say we scrape them from each other, darling,  
and let them wash off in the rain.

And when they run into the river, oh no,  
let the water not complain.  
I swear that even with the distance,  
slowly wearing out your name.

Your hands still catch the light the right way  
and our hearts still beat the same.  
And our hearts still beat the same.

...

**Chapter Five: Before**

...

One.

One-two.

One.

The young Uchiha was trying to contain himself as he raced to the hospital, but there was nothing that could stop the dramatic beating of his heart. The news was scattered all around the village, that a newly-inducted chuunin team had come back from a two week mission, and that one of their kunoichi had been critically injured. There were whispers all around - that the kunoichi had sacrificed herself to save her teammate, the same teammates who legendary attack had pierced straight through her chest. Rumors were flying everywhere - that she was dead, that she was in a coma, that she was alive - each one contradicting the other, sending Itachi into a frenzy as soon as he walked through the gate.

He had to trust his ANBU team to fill out the mission report, and to alert the Hokage of his whereabouts. If he was going to be demoted for insubordination, so be it; one less stress for him to carry, because at that moment all he could think about were the slanted black eyes and tousled red hair of the girl who was _supposed_ to be his friend.

The girl he had abandoned for the sake of his clan. For the sake of the village.

How low had he stooped?

It was at the moment he made a vow - as he entered the hospital doors and ran straight to the room as directed, as he opened the door to find the brown haired boy who had supposedly tried to assassinate his own teammate sleeping at the edge of her bed -

Itachi Uchiha vowed to never abandon Shin again, no matter what the circumstance. He would always protect her.

No matter what the cost.

He stopped at the doorway, staring at the girl with wires in her arms. Shiro's head shot up immediately, his eyes already glowing fierce with the Ayastura, but quickly turned it off when he realized who had entered.

"It's you."

"How's she doing?" Itachi asked, his voice monotone. Shiro took note of how he was still in his ANBU uniform, his mask casually pulled to the side. _He's breaking so many regulations... _he thought, turning his head back towards his sleeping teammate. _He must have just returned..._

"Stable," Shiro responded, as as soon as Itachi had the confirmation that she was okay, the elder boy was pinned against the hospital wall, a katana at his throat.

"Tell me what happened," the Uchiha spoke, his black eyes turning a swirling red. "And if you leave out a single detail, I will end you right here."

"It was... genjutsu..." Shiro gasped, narrowing his eyes. "She saw it before I did... the enemy shinobi blinded us, made it seem as if we were winning... they created an illusion and went to attack from the shadows. Shin saw it first, and ran into my Ayasumi in order to get a shot at the shinobi that would have pierced my heart. She... killed him with his own sword. Aki-sensei stabilized her, and we got back to the village as fast as we could..."

Itachi pressed the katana closer.

"Tell me, Shiro, was it your arrogance that caused all of this?"

"I...I..."

"_Itachi_."

The katana dropped to the floor, and the ANBU released his grip on the boy as he turned towards the voice. _Her_ voice.

Shin's eyes were open, and the young girl was pulling herself up.

"Shin-chan, try not to - "

"_Don't,_" her words were like ice, a tone Itachi had never heard before. There was a small silence, as if she was trying to catch her breath before speaking again. "Don't tell me what to do, Itachi."

"What..." he droned, but stopped when her black eyes met his red ones. He immediately deactivated the sharigan, finally seeing her through real eyes, seeing her in all her normality, but it was futile - there was no point, because her next words blinded all his sense and sent him into the path of oblivion.

"Get out."

And for some reason, his body reacted on it's own, and he listened.

...

_"What do you want from us!?" the woman screamed, falling to her knees. Blonde hair fell over her shinobi headband, her eyes closed as tears fell down her cheeks. The bodies of her teammates lay around her, still alive - but barely, and she didn't have enough strength in her to carry them back. _

_There was an echo of laughter from the forest around them as she pounded her fist into the ground, her body shaking in the rain. _

_"Reikyo Hamiruka," a voice called, and the earth below the woman's knees shattered beneath her._

...

Shin woke up in a panic, shooting up from the bed so fast that the IV wires detached from her arms and the stands fell to the ground. Her eyes were wide, her heart beating out of her chest as she tried to remember where she was.

_Reikyo... Hamiruka? _she questioned as her heart race slowed and her guard began to vanish. _Who... why does she feel so familiar?_

She shook the thought from her mind, trying to assess her situation. This was the second time in a month that she had ended up in the hospital, and it made her wonder about her mother. Where was she? And how was she health wise? The girl could only imagine that Amaya had been on her own while Shin had been away, seeing as Itachi didn't come around anymore...

Her thoughts lingered on the sharigan eyes of her former friend, and there was an ache in her chest as she remembered her cold words towards him. She did not regret them, she was distraught... and disappointed at how easy they came out of her mouth, how easy it had been for her to dismiss him. The one person she could always count on wasn't there for her when she needed him most, and she couldn't help but resent him for trying to mend their rela

"Nice to see you're up, Shinwari."

Her eyes snapped to the door, caught off guard by the sudden intrusion. There was an ANBU at the door, his mask and uniform covering all of his features except the silver hair spiked around his head. She gave an acknowledging nod.

"You are being discharged. I'm here to escort you to the Hokage's office."

_This is the second time I've needed an escort,_ she thought, as a nurse came up behind the ANBU with a change of clothes. _What is going on?_

_..._

Kakashi Hatake knew something was up the moment his subordinate sprinted away from the village entrance. The guards had been conversing about a previous arrival when they had walked up to check in, and the minute Itachi caught word of what had happened he had left without a word. The ANBU captain was skeptical, but did not break protocol; he checked in at the gates, and proceeded to the Hokage building to inform the man of the missions completion along with Itachi's dramatic run.

"I expected as much," Sarutobi had said. "Itachi is a bright child, it's no surprise that he figured it out. A newly inducted chuunin team... it could have only been her."

"I don't mean to pry," Kakashi replied. "But - "

"Shinwari Natasu, daughter of Amaya Itoru was one of the recently promoted chuunin this year. She is also one of Itachi's closest, if not only friend, aside from his clan members."

Kakashi nodded in understanding, Obito's words echoing through his head as a newfound respect for the young prodigy wormed its way into his heart. _Those who break the rules are scum... but those who would abandon their friends, are worse than scum._

"I expect him to return when he is assured of her safety," Sarutobi continued. "But I also need you to be immediately reassigned."

"Of course, Hokage-sama."

"It's another simple mission, you will once again be escorting Shinwari back to my office, when the medical shinobi decide she is well enough to be discharged."

There were so many questions running through the young captains mind, but he did not voice any of them - it was not his place, and he knew this. Instead, he took a bow, and exited the building as quick as he had entered it.

When he arrived at the hospital the nurse had given him her okay.

"She's stabilized, and she'll heal within a few days but she needs her rest. No missions for at least a week. We stitched her up, and there are still chakra seals where the blast went through to heal the wound even when we cannot. Make sure the Hokage knows this."

"Understood," Kakashi spoke, immediately making his way towards her room, his ANBU mask still on as he entered it. She was awake, but barely; her eyes were half closed, there were beads of sweat forming on her forehead, and her breathing was anything but normal.

"Nice to see you up, Shinwari," he spoke, and she only gave a curt nod. "You are being discharged. I'm here to escort you to the Hokage's office."

He waited outside the room while she changed, which took a little longer than expected - he had to keep reminding himself that the Ayasumi had gone _right through her chest,_ barely missing her heart. The very thought of it sent shivers down his spine, the flashbacks of Rin running straight into his chidori haunting him even more with every second. _She did the same thing as Rin,_ was all he could think after the reports. _Everything for the sake of the mission... for the sake of her comrades._

That reason itself gave him such a respect for her that he wasn't even annoyed, or put off in the least that he had been put on babysitting duty. When she walked out of her room, clad in all black with her red hair falling over her shoulders, all he could think about was the sacrifice she had made by jumping in front of her own teammates blow. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders to steady her, walking her out of the hospital. As soon as they reached the sunlight he squatted down, allowing her to ride on his back as they raced back to the Village's center.

...

Itachi stared into the river, his black eyes glazing over as he thought about weeks that had passed, and the ones that were shortly coming. Everything was blurring together, the stress lines on his face deepening as he thought of the restlessness of his clan and the distrust of his village. How did he come to be twelve years old already, spying on the people who raised him, who cared for him? Twelve years old and already so many lives on his hands, so many lives lost -

And then he stopped. He was twelve. He had turned twelve months ago.

Today was Shin's birthday.

Had he been able to cry, he may have broken down at that exact moment - the moment a fish flew from the water, the moment a bird scooped down to devour his prey. He would have cried for all he had done, all he had yet to do, and for the girl he had abandoned who was surely spending her day of celebration in a hospital bed.

Her word rang through his ears, _get out._ And he wished so much that she had been talking to the brown haired boy in the room and not him - the boy who had stuck his hand through her chest, who had almost killed her. But even still, it was Shiro who had stayed with her in the hospital, Shiro who had carried her home, Shiro who did not leave her side in times of trouble. Itachi had left because of an accusation, and Shiro had stayed even though he had every right to flee after almost killing his teammate.

Itachi's head whipped around as he felt another presence, and suddenly every muscle in his body tensed as she approached him. Her hair was down, now long enough to reach past her shoulders and fall over her chest; her eyes were dark, but there was a cloudiness in them he could not place. She said nothing as she walked up beside him, her head only reaching just over his shoulder as she stared at the water. He knew that this was the moment - the moment for him to apologize, to put everything on the table, the moment he should have fallen to his knees and begged for forgiveness.

But instead he remained silent, turning his head towards the water, letting the minutes pass by and the tension ease up.

"Happy birthday, Shin-chan," he spoke, and his heart couldn't help but flutter as the corners of her lips turned into a smile.

In that moment everything was so just, so right, so... normal, and relieving, that neither of them noticed they were being watched.


	6. Chapter 6

**A Tale of Ravens**

...

_There is no greater love in life than the one we feel after loss._

...

**Chapter Six: Before**

...

Testya Arimani was twelve years old when he was assigned to his genin team underneath his fierce but kind sensei, Aki Hyuuga. They were an idealistic bunch; Testya, the taijutsu specialist; Amari Yukima, the ninjustu specialist, prone to summoning packs of ninken; and last but not least, Shimora Nara, the brains behind their entire operation.

They had been told countless times that they would all advance before anyone else; they would become chuunin within the year, and possibly jounin the year after. Their teamwork was impeccable, their skills even more so, and after two years of working together there was not a single mission failed.

Until their last.

He could still smell it, the residue left after the bombs; the smell of burnt flesh, of smoked wood and burning paper. He remembered her screams - Amari, as she called for her ninken but they never came because before she even had a chance to make a single seal her arms had been blown off. Shimora had raced towards her, raced to save his teammates who was screaming and crying as she bled out from the holes where her arms should have been.

And then there was a final blast, and they died together. Testya... he had stood frozen, watching as his teammates - his best friends, were incinerated before his very eyes, and turned to find his sensei critically injured, his body scorched but his insides relatively untouched.

Testya had debating resigning as a shinobi altogether; he was fourteen when he lost everyone he cared about, how could he go on losing more people? How could he go on to get attached to someone else, someone besides Amari or Shimora, just for them to die as well? He had been useless to them, how was he supposed to aid others as they fought for the safety of their village? How could he be trusted to do such a thing?

Aki-sensei seemed to feel the same way. So for a year, they parted from the standard team setting and indulged in a one-on-one mentor ship that was looked down highly by the Hyuuga clan. Such a high-ranking member should have been spending his spare time training their own, but he ignored their disapproving stares and continued on with Testya. They had formed a bond, one no clan could take away - they were family outside of blood because they had lost enough to know that blood was not the only thing that could tie people together

When the Hokage had addressed the Hyuuga with a proposal of another team, he had immediately denied it; but it was not a request, as Sarutobi had made it sound, it was an order. Loss was apart of life, and Aki had been around to know that. Amari and Shimora were not the first people he had lost, but they had been the youngest, and the thought of children - young, prospering, children - not being able to become adults left a mark on his heart he could not erase.

So it was understandable that both teacher and student would be skeptical about the two newly promoted chuunin who had entered their team. Both were ridiculously young for their ages - one barely twelve, the other one fourteen, yet...

Yet both were considered prodigies in their own right. Shiro Kui, fourteen years old and the youngest member of the Kui clan in history to unlock his Ayastura - already named heir of the Kui clan, surpassing even the current Head's own daughter for the title. And then there was Shinwari Natasu, who became a genin at only seven years old. A girl with no shinobi background who surpassed almost everyone in her class... well, except for Itachi Uchiha.

Shiro was the first to show at the river where Testya had been waiting. Aki had already postponed his arrival due to clan matters he wasn't able to discuss, so Testya was in charge of breaking the two in. The Kui heir was everything the Arimani had expected; tanned, brown hair, pale purple eyes, and he carried to arrogance of his clan Head in the very way he presented himself. For a moment, after the initial meeting, Testya considered that the two could actually get along. The boy's attitude was irritating, but something easily looked over -

That was, until she arrived.

Clad in all black, her chuunin vest hanging loosely off her shoulders, contrasting against blood red hair and slanted black eyes, Shinwari Natasu was not what Testya expected. Only eleven, and the aging lines of someone twice her age...

And the enemies to match, he deducted after Shiro's reaction to her presence. The boy's anger flew, and even Testya had heard about the legendary match between the two only a week ago...

What was the Hokage thinking, putting them both on the same team? And what was Aki-sensei thinking, accepting this? Testya had enough of them already, and it was apparent on his sensei's face as he crossed over the border of the river that he felt the exact same.

Until their infiltration mission, when the girl whose hair was the color of blood ran into her own teammates attack in order to save him.

Testya wanted to hate Shiro, the arrogant boy with no boundaries, the boy who would put a mission in jeopardy to prove his own strength, and for a moment he did. But the way the boy had followed his fallen teammate around like a lost puppy, staying every day at the emergency care ward, taking care of her sick mother when he had never even met the woman before - it gave Testya a new found respect for him, and he began to think that maybe a new team wouldn't be so bad after all.

As Testya entered the hospital to find that Shin had already been discharged he couldn't but think that maybe everything would work out this time.

...

Sasuke Uchiha looked up to no one as much as he did his older brother. Even his father, the fearsome leader of the Uchiha Clan, a legendary shinobi by all accounts, did not compare to Itachi. Itachi, who had surpassed levels faster than those before him, who had become an ANBU at the mere age of eleven - protecting the village, and his clan all the same, but still managed to show so much compassion for those around him.

Especially to Sasuke.

Sasuke, who watched his every move, who was always waiting patiently to return home from an assignment, who always accepted his brothers excuses for not training him even though he knew they were lies. Sasuke, who was only six years old but still understood enough to know that there was tension encircling his brothers very being.

"Where is he, Mikoto?"

"He could be on a mission."

"We were not notified by the Hokage."

"It could be - "

"He's with her again, I know it."

"You don't have any proof. He hasn't seen her since - "

"When will you stop believing your own lies?"

"When will you stop cutting me off, Fugaku?"

"When your son stops acting like he is not apart of this Clan - "

"Fugaku - "

"No, It's not right. How is he supposed to fight for future Head if he cannot even - "

Sasuke stopped listening, he _couldn't_ listen anymore. He couldn't stand the thought of Itachi being anything other than perfect, anything other then the best shinobi for both the Uchiha and for Kohana. He wouldn't betray them - there was no way he had taught an outsider any of their jutsu, and if he knew this at six years old, how could no one else see it? How could his parents not see it?

Something bad was happening, he knew it. But he couldn't place what it could have possibly been.

...

He walked her home that night. They had barely said five words to each other the entire time, but her presence was enough to know he was forgiven. It was about a ten minute walk to the Slums for the river, and they walked so close next to each other that had Shin's hands not been in her pockets their fingers may have actually grazed. He tried not to pay attention to that factor - their closeness, the way she smelled of burnt wood and cinnamon, and instead direction his attention towards her footsteps, which carried a small limp.

Itachi could have left her at the foot of the stairs but he didn't. It wasn't just Shin he had avoided, he hadn't seen Amaya since the chuunin exams and even though it was late he knew she would be up waiting for her daughter. He was logical, he knew that he could not carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, but that logic did not stop him from carrying Kohana's weight, why had it stopped him with this family? The family of two that saw him as Itachi, their comrade, not Itachi, the ANBU; Itachi, the Uchiha heir...

He was right, he concluded as they walked through the door, which was slightly cracked at the hinge. But he was wrong in thinking that the lack of his presence had any effect on either of them, because sitting with her on the couch was Shiro, his brown hair disheveled and his eyes marked with the plague of insomnia.

Shin smiled, and she gestured for Itachii to come in but there was an ache he couldn't place - an ache of unwelcome as his black eyes met the purple ones of his friend's teammate, the only option he felt he had was to leave.

...

Shin's week of remission passed in a blur. Amaya had insisted she be put on bed rest, but the request itself was asking too much; a child that had grown up as a shinobi did not know how to rest. So the twelve year old buried herself in housework and the company of her teammates. Shiro was over almost every day; he would stop by in the mornings with breakfast, and then break off throughout the day, only to return in the evening with dinner. He hadn't need to be told that the small family of two wasn't well off - it was obvious by the very location they lived in, and how the only real source of food they had was rice and milk. Being put off missions meant that Shin's paycheck for the week would be non-existent, and it was the purple eyed Kui that had made it that way. Which of course meant it was his duty to provide for them, if only for a little bit.

There was no sign of the Uchiha heir throughout the week. However, his elder cousin was a different story.

"Shinwari!"

The front door flew open and the girl sprung off of the couch, immediately putting herself in a defensive stance. Shisui took note of how casual she looked, minus the bandages that were peaking out underneath the loose back shirt she wore.

"Shisui..." she whispered. Who was he to just barge into her house? But of course, as always, she put it to the back of her mind - like she did with everything else.

"What are you doing today?" he asked, and received an awkward shrug as a response.

"Good, nothing. Now come on, I have something to show you."

She didn't know what it was that made her get up off the couch and throw her hair in a pony tail, but there was something about the way the Body Flicker's eyes glistened that set her nerves at ease.

"Such an awful place to live," Shisui commented as they descended down the stairs. "It makes me wonder why the Police Force hasn't been here yet."

Shin shrugged, not even bothered by his comments.

"They... no one really cares about us over here," she responded, her voice low as she pretended not to notice the stares of the civilians as they walked out of the Slums and into the main part of the village. "No one here has money or status, we're just... we're the rejects of Kohana, you could say. We don't bother anyone and no one bothers us."

Shisui's eyes widened at her response. He had honestly expected a simple shrug, maybe a word or two, and while her voice was still soft and quiet she carried so much meaning in her words... as if she was really convinced nobody cared for her.

"Well, good thing I'm apart of the police force then, huh? I guess we'll have to make something happen for you."

Her eyes widened in shock - shock that someone she had only met three times was willing to try to help her, but she said nothing because she knew the Uchiha would never go for it. How could they? Why would they care? They were a Clan, a prestigious one, one that hadn't migrated into Kohana's lifestyle in order to keep their name. Why would they care about some poor girl living in a shady part of town, or that shady part of town to begin with? They had much more pressing matters to deal with.

Which is why Itachi wasn't here with her, wasn't it?

But she said nothing because she knew Shisui knew this, knew he was just trying to be friendly... to show her compassion.

They eventually made it to the destination, which was the small graveyard right outside the Village's training grounds. The graveyard that held so many fallen shinobi, and the hearts of their families that were buried with their bodies. Shin held her breath as they walked through the grass, not saying a word as her eyes glanced over each grave. Why was he taking her here, of all the people to share a moment with... it was the one person who hadn't lost anybody?

Shisui glanced over, a small smile working its way to her face as he noticed her confusion. It wasn't a smile of happiness, or of amusement; it was sad, the way his lips moved up and his eyes creased together. He needed the girl with the blood red hair and those dark, soulless eyes to be here - needed the girl who had lost no one to see for herself what the shinobi life was really like.

Needed the girl who was about to lose everyone to know that the hearts of her comrades would always be close, and always be with her.

He could only hope she was smart enough to understand.


End file.
